Love Sprouts and Grows
by Rangerskirt
Summary: Or the one where Charles and Magda switch places from the movie-verse. Charles is a young and recently single father of Nina who by chance meets Magneto and is too desperate for help to care about his past. Charles is Nina's father and meets Erik unexpectedly and offers to let him crash on the couch in exchange for help around the house.


-I read an article online about the history of homosexuality in Poland during the 1900's, I didn't do extensive research but according to what I read it seems that homosexuality although looked down upon in most circles, was by far not illegal in Poland in the 80's.  
-This is sort of how I imagined that Erik and Magda met before XMen: Apoc, at least the bar part stuff.

* * *

Drowning himself in alcohol in the middle of nowhere, some small town bar in the middle of Poland, sat Erik Lehnsherr. The famed villain also known to the world as Magneto who had gone off the grid long ago but at some point just disappeared altogether. No one had been sure what had happened to him and searches around the globe for him had calmed in the last year with him not causing too much trouble.

There he sat, on his umpteenth drink and very much drunk. Things had been going well for him, doing right by his kind until he just couldn't make himself do it anymore. Seeing so many fellow mutant deaths had taken a big toll, he never should have degraded Magda for being so depressed when her school had been closed down due to the war back in America all those years ago.

Magda, the only person he had ever loved if you could even call it love. Knowing each other for a brief time, the great attraction between them, they had kissed only once before the fight with Shaw. That had been when he'd lost any hope of being with her in the future, she insisted that she would always care and believe in him but never did she want to get lost in his mind again, never would she allow him to take over her heart again.

So he had elected to leave the great telepath alone, he had heard news of her reopening the school and that it had been going better than ever. Wonderful, he thought. Truly wonderful for young mutants to have a place of peace to go to and learn their abilities, he greatly respected the woman for that especially after all she had been through ranging from her childhood to the bullet Erik had mistakenly sunk into her spine.

It was his turn to lose hope in his cause, he just needed a break that was all. At least he kept telling himself that with more and more alcohol he kept dousing his bloodstream with. Without full control of his mind, Erik became a bit...rowdy and loud as he kept demanding drinks and slapping his stolen money onto the wooden bar table.

The man who had been seated next to him all evening finally turned to look at him, "Sir, I think you're quite past your limit. Go home." Leaning heavily on the bar Erik held up a hand to silence the other, a slightly red color to his face from being drunk. "Shh human! Do you know who you're speaking to!?"

Tapping a finger against the edge of the bar the man looked unamused but asked anyway, "No, who?"

"I, am the great Magneto, freer of the defenseless and-!" unable to stop Erik began rambling on loudly, the other man only smiled with tired eyes and let a small laugh edge from his throat. The smaller man stood up and looked at the barkeep, "Don't worry about him Adrian, I'll make sure this stranger makes his way home so you don't need to call on the police." Finishing his own drink and paying the brunette reached and touched Erik's arm to quiet him and gain his attention.

"Show me where you live and I'll make sure you get home without falling into a ditch." then began leading the drunk outside into the quiet and cold night air. As the air hit Erik in the face it had _some_ sobering affects, at least he quieted down and followed behind the smaller man. "Not staying anywhere..." his voice still slurred a bit around the edges.

"Ok, I'll show you to the local Inn then-hey!" the man cried out when Erik hugged him from behind loosely and then pushed him off. "No touching stranger, I'm doing you a favor. You were pissing off Adrian pretty bad, I'm sure he was close to having you kicked out on your ass and thrown in jail for the night if you'd gone on talking much more."

The arms made their way back around the smaller man's waist and Erik's forehead leaned into his shoulder. "No money for...bed. I want to stay with you." The touch wasn't seemingly invasive, like a man who was touch starved but not looking for anything more than what it was, a simple touch. So this time the brunette didn't push away and Erik was thankful, the man reminded him of a tad of Magda. Brown hair and blue eyes that looked like ocean waves. "Take me home and do what you want to me then...even if you _are_ a human."

Scoffing the man pushed him away again but this time took his wrist and began leading him up a small side road towards the more poor side of the town. "So you're a mutant then. Are you really Magneto then? Lucky for you that you're not the first person in that bar to claim yourself to be him, no one believed you since you're so wasted."

"You believe me then?" came Erik's quiet tone, he stumbled a bit but followed dutifully within the man's soft guiding hand.

"Perhaps, I'll believe you more in the morning when I can look at your eyes and not see alcohol lying through them." The man's house was actually far off on the edge of town surrounded by woods and great land, but the house itself was run down and ragged even though it was quite a large size. "Sorry it's not much but since you wanted to come I'm not allowing any whining from you."

Expecting to be taken advantage of in some way due to his mindset, Erik was surprised even then when he was simply tucked into the couch with a blanket and left to sleep there like a friend instead of some strange drunker.

He awoke in the morning to a startling sound, a baby crying. Staring out a window and taking in the atmosphere all of last night came rushing back to the mutant's mind, well if the man did think he was Magneto he would just kill him. Just a human after all. The inside of the house looked better than the outside but was still run down and the sun was barely in the sky, too early to be up yet he heard footsteps upstairs and the babies crying silence soon after.

Those footsteps came trailing downstairs not long after and blue eyes connected with Erik's. "Oh you're awake, and sober I hope."

"I am." he muttered in a low tone and stood up, following the brunette into the kitchen with his hands clenched into fists. He felt defensive all of a sudden. "So about last night, what I said in the bar about being..."

"Magneto right, that terrorist from America for mutant rights?" the other finished for him and suddenly the silverware drawer started to rattle. "Woh hey I never said I was turning you in! You haven't done me any wrong!" It sounded sincere and the metal quieted at least for the moment, Erik sighed out and held his head from his hangover starting to pound, "My apologies I just don't meet many humans who wouldn't readily turn me in."

"Can't say I agree with how you do things but they do work in most cases. I'm sympathetic towards mutants for my own reasons." the man had begun pulling out what looked to be baby formula and getting it ready.

"You're...a single father?" the words escaped Erik's lips before he meant them too. "Who was watching the baby last night when you were out drinking then?" Maybe he was still a little bit drunk he thought to himself.

"Huh? Oh. I had a sitter, local girl I trust. She left just as I dragged you in and tucked you into the couch." he answered, "I'll be back down after I feed Nina, help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge for breakfast." and then he promptly disappeared upstairs.

Sighing out loudly Erik pulled the fridge open, plenty of baby formula and a few stray beers but other than that the fridge was pretty barren. Whatever he would choose to eat would leave very little for his late-night savior, so Erik pulled out the pancake mix and began finding things in the kitchen to go with such as a pan, the syrup and pouring two glasses of good old-fashioned milk for them and setting it on the table with tableware.

The oven looked old and crusted over with rust but with some fiddling, mostly with his powers, Erik managed to get it to work and made a nice neat stack of pancakes for each plate.

When the smaller man started descending the stairs he was carrying the babies crib down in its entirety, like most things in the house it looked a bit old but sturdy enough. He walked slowly and oh so carefully but Erik felt impatient, taking hold of the cribs screws with his powers Erik floated it down gently as a cloud and right over to the table he was sitting at.

Blinking the man had gasped when the crib had lifted out of his hold and he had panicked for a brief moment, "Oh...thank you?" and sat opposite to Erik. "This is Nina, my daughter." The baby in the crib looked happy, fed and changed and clean, probably the most cared for thing in the entire house as she sucked on her pink binky and made happy noises behind it with contentment.

"Hello Nina." Erik said gently as his eyes met the babies. "I made breakfast...as a thank you for letting me crash here last night."

The man already had a mouthful of pancakes in his mouth and forced himself to swallow and cough lightly to clear his throat. "That was nice of you, I'm starving. Oh right, I'm Charles by the way, Charles Xavier." he extended his hand for Erik to shake briefly over the table. "I know, weird last name for living in Poland but I guess its a really old one my ancestors have passed down for generations, that kind of junk."

"Erik Lehnsherr or...well, Magneto."

"Hmmm-" the man, Charles, gave a thinking and playful look as he cut a bite of his pancakes and lifted them to his mouth, "I think I like Erik better than Magneto. Rolls off the tongue easier ya now?" With a light air between them the men ate their breakfast and then did the dishes together, Charles washed and Erik dried.

"So Erik, where are you going now that you have no money and no wars you feel like fighting?"

"How do you know I don't have any of that?" he frowned at the question.

"You're broke from drinking away last night and well...I guess I can just see some defeat in your eyes, you don't want to go out fighting right now. It looks to me like you want to rest a bit. So I'll ask again, what are you going to do when you leave this house today?" the question repeated but there was no malice in its tone.

"I guess I'll..." Erik refused to say he didn't know but that was exactly how he felt.

"Perfect!" Charles cut in with a chipper tone. "I know this is weird, so very weird but I have a proposition for you my friend! I'm a recently single father and I may need some help around this house. If perhaps you'd be willing to do some work for me I'd be happy to feed you and let you sleep on the couch for the time being and NOT out you to the police." a grin spread over his face.

"Are you blackmailing me!?" Erik exclaimed though he felt much less angry at that fact than he had anticipated. There just wasn't something about Charles that screamed he would be outting Erik anytime soon without a given reason, or he would have last night at the bar and let the barkeep send him off to prison.

"No no! Just...heavily requesting some assistance? I think it's quite the fair deal honestly."

"Well of course _you_ do, you devised the idea!" the said back a little more heated this time but looked away from the other man. "I guess...I could for a while."

"Would it help to know that my daughter is a mutant?" the other sprang out and said. "It doesn't happen often but animals are extremely attracted to her, on an unnatural degree. I have a feeling, as a father, that she's a mutant."

That put a silence in both Erik's throat and mind, a mutant out here? It wasn't impossible but just less likely heard of. "Nina is a mutant? You want me to stay because you need help, not only with handling things but because you don't know how to deal with a mutant child." he stated.

"That...that would be correct. I love her, more than anything. But I have no idea how to deal with the powers she has, especially when she gets older. I was just hoping if you stick around a little while and I get to see yours, perhaps I'll be better at it when she is older." Charles' blue eyes looked a bit softer then, sadder than they had. "It would mean a great deal to me, and Nina, if you would be willing to help just for a little while?"

Taking a very long pause Erik couldn't believe what he was about to say but nodded, "I will stay, for her. No idea how long either so take me while you can."

"Wonderful!" the brunette brightened instantly and practically danced over to Nina and picked her out of her crib, holding her close. "Hear that Nina? Our new friend is going to stay with us for awhile, isn't that nice?" he said in a baby voice. Reaching up to pull at her father's hair the girl giggled happily.

~.~.~.~.~

After a long month of living at the Xavier's Erik had settled in easily enough. He and Charles alternated work schedules so someone would always be home with Nina, he knew her schedule and helped do everything for her like washing, feeding, naps, and the like. In the time he had learned that Nina's mother had passed away in childbirth, she had been human and that the woman and Charles had not been married and only together in the long run for about six months before finding out Nina was on the way.

They had been living somewhere closer in the city until the baby was announced, and then they had moved out to this house Charles owned from his parents Will to save on money despite it being kind of old and decrepit. Erik couldn't blame them, with only Charles working it was hard to support a family of three and pay on either rent or a mortgage with the kind of wages made being a teacher.

Charles seemed quite brilliant but the schooling in the town was quite lacking in both good teachers and finances so Charles was left with little he could do other than perhaps take up a second job and never spend time with his daughter. That was where Erik came in, though he had planned on keeping all of the money for himself and saving up, he found himself frequently buying groceries without being asked to. Or even something as simple as diapers or a new binky for Nina.

The look on Charles' face whenever Erik did those things without asking was something Erik could only describe as something that gave the older man butterflies in his stomach. The two men got along well enough, they agreed on mutants deserving plenty more rights even if Charles thought Erik's methods were a bit barbaric, but never scolded him for trying such ways.

He had noticed the numbers on Erik's arm within the first two weeks of them living together, their eyes had met and there had been no words exchanged. Charles had simply given a soft smile and touched his hand to Erik's shoulder, a silent understanding between them both that Erik was forever grateful for.

A lot of evenings after dinner, if the two had time to spare between Erik having to leave for late night work, they would sit on the couch and watch bad black-and-white tv programs or even dust off the old chess set that was missing several pawns and a bishop. Erik won every game but he could see his opponent improving, he was quite slick. Smarter than Erik sometimes gave him credit for.

Something else that had become quite a shock for Erik was that as good as Charles was with other people, his students and neighbors in particular, he much preferred to just be home and cozy with his daughter at all times possible. He was much more of an introvert than he let on about and after spending over a month with the small two-person family Erik could see that working in the school system mentally drained the man constantly. He was sure the little pay didn't help that fact.

He had to remind himself most often that he wasn't staying there for Charles' benefit, just for little Nina's. Yes, the mutant, the only one that mattered. Not the human. Charles was in fact, a very kind person. He was a good teacher and on occasion received a home visit from a closeby student who needed help with something or another, Charles never turned them away even when he'd had a bad day or looked tired enough to pass out.

As of late Charles had been coming home tired more and more often, troubles at the school with having even less budget than usual so they'd had to let some people go. The brunette was working double as hard for the same amount of pay, worried that if he complained he would be let go. There were other jobs in the area but nothing for teaching, if he wanted to change careers the man would have to take a pay cut and move to an entry-level job with probably worse hours and more physical work.

One evening Erik had been rocking Nina softly in his arms, having grown quite attached to the small girl, and hummed a song lightly to her as he walked around and was picking the place up from scattered plates, books and binkies. The hour had turned late afternoon and Charles was late by several hours than he normally was home by.

Finally, he did pull up in his old truck and walked in the front door with no smile gracing his expression. He tried to put one on and said, "I'm home, I know you have to get to work soon so I'll take my turn with Nina now." Stepping over he kissed the girls head while Eriks till held her and then held his arms out for her. Blinking Erik frowned, "You look like shit, didn't you sleep at all last night?"

The bare hint of a smile disappeared, "Nina had a bad night, so I did too. Then I was late to work by twenty minutes so I got goaded into doing two hours extra because we had to let another teacher go. I skipped breakfast and lunch and I just...sorry." Charles apologized though neither of them knew what for.

"I don't want an apology, I want you rested so you can spend time with your daughter. I actually don't have a shift tonight so you go take a shower, I'll make you something to eat I was just going to make something for myself. Nina has been really good so I'll give her to you after you've eaten a bit." Opening his mouth to argue Charles closed his mouth quickly seeing the look in Erik's eyes and then sauntered off upstairs.

"Your daddy needs to take better care of himself, what would he do if I wasn't here?" the tall man whispered to the baby and rocked her lightly in his arms again before moving to the kitchen with her to begin making a small and quick dinner. As told to Charles refreshed himself in the bathroom and was promptly fed, then they just sat quietly on the couch watching a dumb tv show as they normally did and Charles had Nina in his arms and lap while they watched.

At some point, Erik wasn't sure exactly when he looked over and noticed the other man sleeping. Should have seen that coming. So when the time came he put Nina to bed and returned downstairs and scooped Charles up into his arms princess style. "Pain in my ass..." he grumped and let the man's head flop and curl into his chest.

The mutant only undressed Charles to the point where he had on a shirt and his boxers and then pulled the covers over the younger man warmly. Brushing a few stray strands of hair from the other's face Erik whispered, "Rest up, you deserve it." Sure there were people out there that could manage a hard job while being a single parent but that didn't mean everyone could handle it perfectly.

He knew that along with not being paid great, a hard job that was getting harder by the day, a new baby by himself, and being a huge introvert was really draining on the man and Erik couldn't find it in himself to begrudge him for that. Things would only be harder when Nina started using her powers more as she got older and more of a handful, he wondered offhandedly what Charles would do without him around.

That very next morning Charles was able to sleep in, one of the few days off he had gotten recently, and went downstairs to find Erik already feeding Nina for the morning. "Sit down I want to talk to you." the older man announced.

Sitting as instructed Charles looked down and crossed his fingers together, "So...you're ready to leave already are you?"

"What? No. I was going to tell you to quit your job actually." Erik quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Look I...I don't know how long I will be here but I can tell it's going to be awhile. You're stressed from a job that isn't even paying you well, I get paid plenty for working 3rd shift so if you were a stay at home dad and I just helped with the bills everything would work a lot better. You wouldn't have to worry about the job and you would get to spend more time with your daughter."

"And you...would be doing about the same amount of work but losing some of your pay." Charles stated back questioningly, "Why would you do that? We had a deal and I'm more than prepared to keep it up."

"Quiet." the older man snapped a bit, "This isn't up for question, it stresses me out just watching you come home like that every night. Nina needs her father. And if you're worried about not having a job or money when I leave then I'll make this promise, no matter when I do go I promise to make sure I've left you in a good place. Whether it's making sure you have a job, or money, whatever, but I won't leave you two hanging."

Blue eyes stared at Erik as if he were a guardian angel, and to Charles he must have looked that way in that single moment. "I-I don't know what to say, thank you Erik. Thank you so much." The whole arrangement had started out of convenience for the single father, so to suddenly see Erik taking charge like he really cared was...interesting.

Erik was right to do it, after only a week of the new arrangements and they settled into the routine easily. Charles had taken over main care of Nina and loved every moment he got to spend with his child, Erik still did things like make breakfast or dinner once in a while and worked his butt off at his job but being able to see the two Xavier's smiling at each other every day was something he couldn't put a price on.

The two men were getting along better than ever after that switch, Charles had much more energy and often made some snide or silly comments towards Erik which would erupt the man into a fit of fake and sputtering anger leaving the smaller man to laugh and giggle like a young girl with joy. There were times when Erik was sure the other man was flirting with him, making offhand comments about him looking handsome in his new clothing or whistling at him when he came out of the shower clothed but with wet hair or shirtless.

~.~.~.~.~

After the three month mark of living together, Erik had taken it upon himself to start fixing up the house. He'd started by replacing older pieces on the outside and weaker pieces of the interior walls which hadn't taken long, Charles hadn't said much about those. When he had begun replacing appliances and gotten them a new fridge and stove, that was when the man had started fretting and insisting Erik did not have to do that.

With plenty of wood around to mess with Erik had gotten very good at widdling and making things out of it, he had turned out to be quite the handyman and had started making things for the house like a new table, crib for Nina, toys for her, and just general replacing of things so the house looked brand spanking new.

When the time came close to month four it was late in the evening, one of Erik's days off so he was relaxing and helping Charles do the dishes as Nina had been put to bed by now and sleeping soundly. "You know...I don't think I tell you this enough but I seriously appreciate you Erik." blue eyes were trained on the dishes being washed by its connected hands and not looking up at Erik. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't come along when you did."

"It's nothing really." came his short answer.

"It's everything to me though! I...look..I know you've done some terrible things but honestly, I just can't get myself to care. This person, this _mutant_ I've gotten to know over the last few months is what matters to me-" he lifted a hand to point a wet finger against Erik's chest and finally look him in the face. "If in the future you ever need a place to lay low and you can get here without being spotted, I will harbor you in a second! Because...because you're more than just help to me you're..." a blush started to cross Charles' freckled cheeks and he seemed to be losing the confidence he'd had saying all of that.

"You're...more than that to me." Dropping the glass in his free hand into the water safely both of his hands moved, one cupping Erik's cheek and the other on his neck as Charles leaned up on his tippy toes and pressed a very chaste but firm kiss to the other's lips. Then paused to study his companion's face but saw it blank as if trying to analyze the moment himself. "You're a good man who has been pushed to his last resorts to get what he wants for his people, I respect that."

Slowly pulling his hands away Charles turned his eyes down and picked up the drying rag to wipe his fingers off, a bit embarrassed he hadn't done that before smearing his wet fingers along Erik's face and kissing him. They finished putting the dishes away in complete silence, Charles stretched his arms above his head and yawned, "I think I'm going to skip any chess or tv tonight I'm pretty exhausted." and took a few steps towards the stairs.

"Charles?" the deeper voice stopped him in his tracks and the brunette turned back, finding Erik pretty close to his personal space. "Yes?" Calloused fingers found his chin and lifted it up, they were gentle despite the rough skin and the two men's mouths met in a soft and mutual kiss.

"Good night, Charles." and the man then turned his back to the other, who had gained quite a dreamy look in his eyes. "Good night, Erik."

~.~.~.~.~

It had been almost a year since coming to live with the Xavier's, their arrangement still going strong and Nina being about a year and half old. She had long since begun to babble words, seeming to have gained her father's intelligence even at a young age. Her favorite word had become 'Da' or 'Dada' which of course was short for Daddy, or Charles.

They talked more effortlessly than ever he and Charles but hadn't shared much of intimacy since that one evening with two brief kisses. Occasionally Charles would feel sweet and kiss Erik's cheek but it was seldom and far in between, the most they usually shared were conversations and smiles that Erik found himself wearing more often than he ever had in his lifetime.

So it came to quite a surprise for them both when one early evening, Charles had been holding her and walking about the kitchen after dinner when she'd begun to squirm. In a teasing and sweet tone Charles had asked, "What is it sweetie, what do you want?" knowing fully well she wanted Erik to come pick her up and cuddle. She whined and gurgled but he urged her on, "You've gotta tell me baby, what is it?"

"P...Papa!" she held her arms out directly towards Erik, no mistaking who she had meant and she had never called Charles Papa before, only Dada. This came to such a shock that Erik's eyes went wide and he dropped the glass he had picked up and it fell to the floor, thankfully being sturdy and not cracking or breaking. "Huh?"

Giggling at his response Nina started to chant it, "Papa! Papa! Papa!" like a song, leaving her two father figures with connected and staring eyes. Finally moving over to her Erik took the girl out of Charles' arms and held her, quieting her down and rubbing her back. Charles looked worried right away, "I'm so sorry, I-I swear I didn't teach her that. We can teach her to call you Erik of course."

Part of him wanted to scream _No!_ in response, he wanted her to call him Papa forever. Instead, he said softly, "That's...probably for the best."

"Right, sorry about that my friend. She's been watching the baby educational channel a lot so she probably picked up on Dada and Papa and decided to use them to differ us out when she wants one of us, that's all." her father smiled gently. Erik knew it to be true but also knew with age the names would grow meaning to her, emotions and feelings of family. That would tie him down.

Several days later the two men had one of their nights out together they took on occasion, paying a babysitter to watch Nina for a few hours and going to the bar to drink. Their focus mostly being on each other, Erik had been hit on by plenty of people but always brushed it off and insisted that he didn't want to accidentally make any little ones of his own and also not get attached to the town for the day when he would eventually be leaving still.

Charles never seemed too much fo a jealous type and he had never shown any when Erik was hit on by women, or the occasional man. Erik on the other hand was the opposite, he'd never seen anything but women hit on Charles before and it always left a searing heat of jealousy in his stomach. It would sour his mood for the entire evening afterward.

So that night when a man hit on Charles for the first time in his view, he had seen red.

They had just been talking, Charles being his polite self and politely telling the man he wasn't interested. The other kept insisting, "It's not illegal to like men you know, I'm sure I could change your mind if you just let me. Unless you're already here with someone?"

"He's here with me." Erik said in a grumbling and warning tone from behind, causing the mysterious man to jump to look at him. The man was quite a bit shorter than Erik was giving the mutant the intimidation factor he was using. "Get lost, I don't share." When the man stood his ground Erik rolled his eyes, paid his tab and then took Charles' hand and began pulling him out of the bar, "Come on Charles, I'm sick of this place tonight."

"Ah, ok coming Erik." being practically dragged out anyways, it didn't stop there and Erik pulled his wrist harshly down the road through the woods towards the house. "Erik, that hurts so knock it off!" Charles frowned and yanked his arm away.

With the courage of several drinks sitting in his stomach the mutant turned and grabbed his companions face before slamming their lips together. "I don't want others to look at you like that. Men or women. Only me." then kissed Charles hard again before the other man could respond with more than just a return kiss.

Giving in Charles clung to the front of Erik's shirt and melted as the kiss deepened and he groaned into it. He found himself being pushed backward then off the path and against the nearest tree possible, even with the kiss distracting him and clothing still on the bark rubbing at his back was uncomfortable. "I want you." Charles muttered in a soft and breathy tone when he managed to break the kiss, leaning his head to trail his lips down Erik's stubbled neck.

Pressing a knee between Charles' legs to rub up into his groin Erik could feel the man already getting hard from the mixture of kissing and drinking. With a few swift movements of his fingers Erik commanded the metal on both of their belts and pants to remove themselves so that their pants fell to the ground, he quickly dove in for another kiss. Deep and lusty the kiss was filled with tongues and hot noises on each end, Charles barely managing to mumble between the action, "Th-That's a handy power..."

He couldn't help managing to smile against Charles' lips and give a taut laugh, "I fixed the car the other day and _this_ is what impresses you?" Slowing his actions Erik pressed his thumbs down into the waistband of Charles' boxers and agonizingly slowly pulled them down to fall with his pants and more quickly shoved his own down.

"You always impress me." Charles muttered back and slide his hands up Erik's chest to wrap around the taller man's neck loosely, space still between their bodies plentily as his blue eyes gazed down between them. Both left bare below, their hard cocks aching for touch and Charles let out a very loud moan when Erik pressed them closer, pushing his hips into Charles' to rub their erections together in a slow motion of his hips. "You're so hard already, you must really like this." he teased into the other's ear.

A deep blush began forming over freckled cheeks and Charles bit the inside of his lip to prevent himself from saying anything embarrassing, and instead just nodded. Trying to push his hips back against the friction in a similar manner it was a bit sloppy and inexperienced, despite the fast start it seemed Erik had decided to take everything slow to remember ever detail.

Charles' entire body tensed when one of Erik's large hands wrapped around both of them and began pumping them together, "Ah!" he cried out and tried to scratch his nails into the other's back but couldn't penetrate the shirt. "It's...it's been awhile since I've..." he tried to warn as the hand between them moved faster in its jerking motion.

"I don't usually see you get flustered in this way, it's sort of cute." that comment alone made Charles clench his eyes shut together to avoid eye contact altogether and just focus on the lovely motion of Erik's hand jerking them off together. "H-Haa.." he let out a breathy and heavy noise as he came closer and closer to his climax. Finally hitting that wall his body tensed more than it had before and he arched his back against the tree behind him, spurting a few ribbons of thick cum against Erik's hands and their stomachs.

Riding out the excess of his orgasm as his companion came it almost turned the younger man on again just feeling another person's cum mixing with his own, but he forced the lust away since he had a daughter to get home to. Standing there and breathing each other's air Charles looked up at Erik and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his chin. "That was...really nice. Maybe we can do stuff like this once in awhile." seeing the unsure look in Erik's eyes now that the lust had been sated the younger man quickly added, "No strings attached, of course! I didn't mean...well you know."

"Y...Yeah, yeah I wouldn't mind, no strings attached." Erik answered simply before they cleaned up what they could and made the walk of shame back to the house.

After that night it became part of a normal routine to jerk each other off a good number of times a week, when Erik had a rough night at work, before bed, sometimes when they just felt like it and Nina was napping they would sneak a little fun into the mix. Charles seemed to have no qualms about initiating handjobs but never more than that which was the first tip-off to Erik that perhaps the young man didn't have much experience in dealing with male partners, after all his previous partner had been a woman.

He'd never bothered to ask ages but guessing on Charles' profession, looks and way he acted Erik assumed him to be around early thirties, which meant there was a decent age gap between them. He himself getting close to fifty even though he didn't look it or feel it himself, perhaps being a mutant gave you better aging genes. There would be plenty of time after Erik left someday for Charles to meet a nice girl, or man if he decided, and live happily ever after.

~.~.~.~.~

When Nina was almost two and a half it marked the time Erik had been with them close to two years, they still had yet to break her habit of calling Erik _Papa_ and honestly the mutant had given up and accepted his fate. He would deal with that more if, no when, the day came when he left the Xavier's.

When he had first arrived the urge to leave and travel, to help mutant-kind had been almost overwhelming despite his depression having taken hold of him and kept him from doing such things. As the days, weeks, months, had past the urge had quieted more and more to where it was barely even a whisper anymore. In fact he found himself dare he say it...happy, with the Xavier's?

Coming home to play a game with Nina and see what new words she had learned and talking with Charles over dinner became things he looked forward to on a regular basis. Never had Erik thought he could care about a human as much as he did Charles, sure he had loved his mother but that had been an entirely different sort of care than he felt towards the other man.

The evening was one of those perfect ones Erik longed for most of the time, one of his few days off, spent in the living room filled with Nina's toys. The young toddler having fallen asleep in Erik's lap snuggling with him as the three of them all watched tv together after having played some games with the little girl. Though Charles had mentioned when they had first met that Nina had shown signs of being mutant she had seldom shown them again in the time Erik had been there.

She had once, while being very little, had a bad dream and woken up screaming only for a murder of crows to perch all along the house windows and squawk at three in the morning until Charles calmed her. The only other incidents were when Erik sometimes took her for walks int he woods little bunnies would hop right up to her, definitely a mutant and had shown powers early but Erik suspected her real control wouldn't come until much later in life.

A hand reached over him and Nina for the remote, Charles yawned and changed the channel to something else since they had been watching a kids show until Nina dozed off. "There's nothing good on." the smaller man gave up quickly and let some old movie play. A warm feeling pounded in Erik's chest and he moved his hand to touch Charles' knee as if testing it, the other made no mention of it or even looked at the touch.

"Hey um...tell me about Nina's mother?" he requested. "You don't have to, I've just been curious for a while. I know we don't usually talk about things like this because I-"

"It's fine." Charles interrupted. "Um, what can I say? There wasn't much to it. We'd met at a bar, had sex, we dated for a little while and then boom, Nina was on the way by accident. She was just an ordinary woman, worked as a waitress at the bar, family long gone like my own, as I've said she wasn't a mutant."

"What about how she died? You said it was childbirth?" At the moment Erik couldn't remember if he had been told that or if he had just assumed.

"I..." blue eyes looked away from both Erik and the tv screen, trying to put as much distance between contact as possible. "Is Nina really asleep? I don't want her to hear any of this." When Erik gave her a little jostle and she didn't move he nodded, "Out like a light."

"You met us when Nina was about six months old, when she was born my girlfriend um, her name was Rosa...well she didn't take postpartum depression very well. So she already was kind of out of the picture no matter what I tried, one night when Nina was about three months old we had an incident like the one you witnessed. Nina had woken up and was screaming, birds started surrounding the windows and pecking at them, that was when we were sure she was a mutant."

Taking in a shaky breath Charles continued and Erik didn't stop him, "I was...shocked, but fine with it. What was the big deal? She was still Nina. Rosa on the other hand, I'm not sure if it was her or her depression but she wanted to...sh-she wanted to..." the man swallowed hard and skipped over a few words, Erik got where he was going with it. Rosa, like many disgusting humans, had wanted to rid the world of another mutant even before she could speak or walk.

"I couldn't let her, so one evening I took a bunch of her anti-depressants and emptied them into the wine she always chugged in the evenings. Police ruled it a suicide." Abruptly Erik stood from the couch, "Stay here, I'm going to tuck Nina in quick." he ordered, leaving Charles frozen and scared where he sat. Sure he knew what Erik had done, but had telling him changed the man's views of Charles? Would he be disgusted and want to leave?

He'd had that story bottled up for so long, never having said a word of it to anyone but his own mind. Part of him had been grateful to finally tell someone but now Charles wasn't so sure, it wouldn't be worth telling the truth if he lost Erik in the process. When the footsteps came back and the couch dipped under the weight of his companion again Charles finally tore his eyes from where they'd been staring at a mark on the floor, "Erik I-!" coming face to face with his housemate Erik touched a hand to Charles' cheek and rubbed a thumb over his lips. "Shh."

When their mouths met in a kiss it seemed much softer than all of their previous ones, it surprised Erik as much as it did Charles if not more since he had initiated it. Pulling back after just a moment Erik didn't pull his hand away but noticed the flushed look to his companions cheeks and the waterworks threatening to spill over in his eyes. "Don't think badly of yourself, I think what you did was amazing in its own way."

"You think it was amazing that I killed her?"

"Yes. You protected what means most to you with what you had, the police probably wouldn't have believed you so what did you do? You took action. You protected her. And _that_ is what I think is amazing." he only spoke true honesty. In his mind Erik had always compared likeness between Charles and Magda, but something like this was something Magda had never been capable of. She would have either used her power to ride everything out or simply left the person with child in hand, Charles had made sure that woman could never harm his child again.

"Take off your pants, I'm going to show you how highly I think of you. Not just because of that, but because of everything you do." he watched Charles hesitate but pull away and scramble, starting to get excited and pull his pants off to toss them in a pile next to the couch. Erik couldn't help but to smile at the energy flushed back into his companion's body so easily.

The man really was a wonder, for a human. Charles could be quite selfless, even after quitting his teaching position he still helped kids with homework on occasion and he did absolutely everything he could for Nina, and even for Erik. It wasn't just the fooling around, Charles had taken care of Erik while he had been sick before, he had rubbed his back after long days at work, cut his hair for him, and the list went on.

"Good, now get on your hands and knees and spread your legs a bit." as Charles got into position Erik moved behind him and spread his ass cheeks with his fingers widely. The smaller man must have known what was coming because his body tremored with excitement and he lifted his ass a little higher with want.

With little hesitation Erik trailed his tongue from the base of his lover's balls and up slowly along his crack once before placing his mouth directly over the small puckered hole and sucked on it gently, lapping at it wetly with his tongue. " _Oh!"_ he heard the squeak from his lover's throat and felt the body he held shiver with delight. "Don't tease me Erik, please."

Oh there would be a lot of teasing that night, so much teasing.

~.~.~.~.~

For Nina's seventh birthday Charles had made her favorite cake and watched his daughter hop in excitement looking at the cutely wrapped present sitting on the kitchen table as he put candles into the top. Hearing the car pull up the driveway Charles smirked, "Guess whose home Nina?" Her eyes widened more and she rushed to the front door just as it opened and threw his arms up, "Papa you're home just in time!"

Only to be scooped up lovingly into Erik's arms and have a kiss pressed to her forehead and then set back on the ground. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Walking into the kitchen the mutant shrugged his jacket off at the same time that he leaned to kiss Charles good morning. "Welcome home." Charles said with a smile.

There had never been any verbal agreement about their relationship but it seemed pretty set in stone in Erik's mind. He still mentioned leaving on occasion but had never actually made a move to do so, he worked for their little family and allowed Nina to call him Papa. After he and Charles had begun having sex often they had seen no reason not to just share the bedroom and soon following that came little touches, hugs around the waist, kisses in the morning and night. The town definitely seemed to know what they were up to, it wasn't illegal but definitely wasn't widely accepted for two men to be in a relationship.

That was fine, the three of them were happy in their bubble together. Charles taught Nina everything she needed to know, they loved her, Erik had a good job and she showed almost no interest in playing with other kids around the neighborhood. Instead she preferred playing with the animals her power attracted and they had even set her up a little play area in the backyard to feed the deer.

"Nina, why don't you tell Papa what you got invited to tonight?" smiling at that Erik asked, "Oh, what is it?" and looked at the young girl he considered his daughter by rights.

"Well! Ada-" Nina's one human friend she did like to play with and had met at the local playground last year, "-is having a sleepover with a bunch of girls tonight. She said it was perfect since it was my birthday that I should come play with them. Daddy says I can go...if you say I can?" she put her hands together and gave the cutest eyes and expression she could, something Erik was positive she either learned or inherited from Charles.

He wasn't mad, Charles knew how he felt about Nina playing with the human kids since she had lost control of her powers before but never in public. He only wanted what was best for her so normally when Nina played with Ada it was at their place or they would at least be with her, this time they wouldn't be. "I..." giving a look to Charles the man just shrugged and gave an expression that meant he would back Erik up either way. Sighing out he said, "Yes of course you can go, how can I say no on your birthday?" Leaning over he poked the girl's nose with affection which caused her to giggle and hug his legs, "Thank you Papa, I love you."

"I love you too, now how about some cake and presents?" Lifting his gaze to smile at his lover Charles seemed to have a sad glint in his eyes that quickly disappeared to smile back. "Something wrong, Charles?" Erik asked in a soft tone so not to alert Nina, she seemed distracted by picking up her present and gently shaking it trying to guess what was inside. Erik knew it to be a beautifully wooden carved horse that Erik and Charles had both taken turns at carving and Charles had finished off by painting, he had quite the talent for that sort of thing.

"It's nothing Erik, just thinking a little too hard about things again."

Often in times it was true, Charles tended to think about others needs before his own and would worry himself silly over it. It confused Erik though, what did he have to worry about at the time? Nina and himself were aptly taken care of in every way and happy, Charles didn't have any kids he had been tutoring as of late or a job to worry about and Erik could sense a small lie hidden between his words.

A thought hit his mind like an arrow on a target board, reaching he touched his rough work hands to Charles' pale cheeks and pinched them a bit teasingly. "Aw, do you want me to tell you that I love you too?" his voice was pure full of teasing and egging on expecting the shorter man to get flustered or playfully get mad at him. Instead Charles' eyes got that glint of sad again and he pushed the hands off of his face quickly, "That isn't funny." then turned towards his daughter, "Ok Nina, open your present and then we'll let you blow out the candles!"

When evening hit after Charles had dropped Nina off at her friend's place he had returned and both of them seemed out of their element and worrying about her having a good time with a bunch of girls they didn't know. So to soothe their worries? They had sex. Despite the little cold spell earlier that day after the 'i love you' incident things seemed fine before sex and Charles clearly wanted to, so Erik pulled out all of the stops. He started slow and worshipped his lover's body and did everything the way he knew Charles liked it to get him off not once but three times throughout their activities.

After sating each other Erik was lazily laying in bed, bedsheet just covering his waist with a leg hanging out over the edge of his side of the bed. Charles had rolled onto his side away from his lover, the sheet only covering his feet and part of his legs but seemingly too tired to pull it up and over himself since he shivered every few moments.

Smiling softly to himself Erik rolled onto his side and pushed himself closer to the smaller man, wrapping a warm arm around his waist and tugging him close for body heat in the chilled room. Kissing the freckles on Charles' shoulder and upper back he said in an intimate tone, "I love you." A hand quickly snatched his wrist that had curled around Charles' smaller figure and shoved it off of its place. "I told you that isn't funny."

"Who says I'm joking?" the urge to wrap his arms back around the other's waist was immediate but Erik held himself back from doing so. Instead he pushed himself to sit up so that he could lean over and get a peek at the expression on his lover's face, it was one of pure seriousness.

"Then I don't know why you're saying it. It's a ridiculous thing to say." Charles muttered in a very lyrical and deep tone that said he meant every word he was saying.

"I'm...confused." the mutant admitted, "We say I love you to Nina all of the time, it's not ridiculous at all." he tried touching his hand to Charles' shoulder very lightly, just barely applying pressure and yanking his hand away when the other man made a shrugging motion to veer him away. "You just have a problem with me telling _you_ that I love you, is that it?"

"It is. Especially from you." the emotion in Charles' voice had turned flat and regretful and from what Erik could see he had begun chewing on his thumbnail. An old habit he'd always had that Erik had noticed long ago he did whenever he talked about a subject he really didn't care for.

"Especially not by me, what the fuck does that mean?" old habits did die hard and Erik could feel his anger rising up in self-defense, he had always been better at arguing than talking things through civilly with people. Magda knew that very well. "Oh I see, it's because I'm a mutant isn't it? Sure Nina is one too, sure I fix things around the house with it for you all of the time but when it comes down to it you're just like everyone else aren't you? You're just some human who fucking hates mutants!" he accused and started pulling away from the other warm body.

Charles sat up quickly then to argue back, "That isn't what I meant and you know it!" but Erik had already turned his back to his lover, sitting on the opposite end of the bed and looking out the window since he didn't want to look back at Charles while they fought. "Then what did you mean by that, especially not from me? Am I incapable of love, am I-"

"It's because _I'm_ human and _I'm_ unloveable you asshole! You just don't fucking understand anything!" Charles' voice started to break as he hopped off his side of the bed, "I've never been truly loved by anyone in my life at least not by choice! My parents couldn't give a shit about me, any of the people I've been with have never loved me, even the mother of my child couldn't bring herself to love me and we had a baby together! To you I'm just some...some dumb human!"

With glaring steely eyes Erik finally turned to look at Charles on the other side of the bed, it was hard to face his lover in their first really big fight but it was also hard to argue when you couldn't read the other person's facial expressions. Right now Erik was seething, "When have I ever said that to you!?"

"You don't need to say it, it's written all over your actions! You've told me plenty how much you hate humans and you have never told me I'm an exception! I understand that you're here because you care about Nina, and we get along and are a nice distraction for each other, I get that so don't try to make me think this is more when I know you're going to leave one day!" clenching his hands tightly into balls Charles turned his head down towards the floor, his hair falling over part of his face and his shoulders starting to shake lightly.

Standing and yanking on his boxers and pants Erik scoffed, "I don't need the guilt trip you're trying to give me Charles. I told you I would probably leave one day and acting like this sure isn't the way to make me stay. You're pushing me away not the other way around." The words were harsh, he knew that and yet they slipped out anyway. Though they'd never spoken about it in depth Erik knew fully well that Charles had some slight abandonment issues due to what he could put together were a mixture of his mother's alcoholism and his step-fathers abuse when he had been growing up. Which had then caused him to have issues with his sexuality and then issues with all of his relationships with women, and men, as a young man.

"I have to get to work, maybe when I get back in the morning we _should_ talk about me moving out." this time his voice cut through Charles with a deep threat and he watched the realization come over those blue eyes when it hit Charles in the face. "Wh-What?" his tone changing from the hurt yet strong one into something completely unbelieving of what he'd just heard. "You're kidding."

"Oh yeah, kidding. Like when I said I loved you. I really like joking around." Erik sliced out again as he pulled on his work clothes and then headed downstairs to pack himself a small lunch sandwich. As he headed towards the front door Charles came stumbling down the stairs and grabbed the back of his shirt, "Wait, Erik! Pl-Please don't do anything rash, we can talk about this tomorrow when we're both calmer!"

"I don't think there's anything to talk about Charles. You seem like you have your mind made up how I feel." he shrugged out of the touch and pulled the door shut firmly behind him and left promptly for work. It was the longest night of work he'd ever felt and when he returned in the morning he had quickly packed a bag of his belongings, "I'm going to stay at the Inn for a few days." he hadn't really decided if he'd leave yet and needed time to think about it. If he was going to then now would have been the time, still, there was Nina to think about.

As he prepared to leave Charles had been following him around and trying to talk sense into him and pulling at his shirt apologizing over and over. Erik all but ignored him and left through pure stubbornness. Thoughts swirled his mind and Erik had begun making a list of Pros and Cons about leaving.

Pros:

1\. Helping Mutants  
2.

Cons:  
1\. Spending time with Nina  
2\. I don't go to jail  
3\. I haven't finished fixing the house wiring and knowing that would drive me nuts forever  
4\. Charles needs me

Sure there were probably more he could have thought for Pros, but as son as he physically wrote down _Charles needs me_ Erik knew he wouldn't be leaving, he just had to think how to work this out. Still a bit miffed about the dumb fight he had started to clear his thoughts by the second night living at the Inn, Charles had no right to push him away like that and then want him to stay but that also hadn't given him the excuse to say the things he had to the other man.

Damn his stubborn streak.

On the third night while he had been at work his boss walked over to him and called over the loud noises of the workroom. "I've got some kid on the phone for you, says her name is Nina?" A cold patch ran down Erik's spine as he all but rushed to the phone in the office and picked it up. "Nina?"

 _"Papa! Um..."_ her voice sounded worried but calm, _"Daddy passed out, like he was standing and passed out in the kitchen. I already checked his pulse, he taught me how to once, and he's breathing so I think he's just sleeping but...but I don't really know what to do. Can you come home please?"_

Erik sped home to find that Nina had put a pillow under Charles' head and a blanket over him, their small town, unfortunately, did not have an emergency number to call so Erik had been the next best thing in the girl's mind as she sat watch over her father's sleeping form. After checking him over Erik found that Charles looked extremely pale and had light rings under his eyes as if he had not been sleeping much at night. But as Nina had instructed, all in all it seemed like he had collapsed from exhaustion and his head hadn't hit anything too hard so there shouldn't have been a concussion.

All Erik could do was tuck him into bed and let him sleep, then return to pick Nina up and put her in bed. As he tucked in her covers she looked up at him with worried eyes. "Are you staying home now? I think...I think that Daddy got sick because he's jealous you've been out staying with a friend." That must have been the lie Charles had told her so that she hadn't worried about her Papa being gone from home all day.

"He's jealous?" Erik asked in a gentle tone. She nodded back with vigor, "Daddy says that other than me, you're the person he loves the most. So...it only makes sense that if you're away from him too long he'd get sad. When you're away I get sad too but you're my Papa so it's different than for Daddy."

Brushing a hand over the girls bangs lovingly he asked, "He says that...he loves me?"

Nodding again in a smaller fashion this time Nina smiled and yawned tiredly, "All the time. I already knew that though, that my Daddy and Papa love each other very much."

Leaning over to kiss Nina on the forehead Erik whispered, "You rest now, I'll take care of Daddy and he'll be better tomorrow. Promise." She seemed content with that, he had never lied to her before so it made it easy for Erik to slip out of her room without getting a fuss from her. Down the hall he found the door to Charles' room open and the man himself outside the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing out of bed? You passed out!" he hissed immediately in warning.

"I'm sorry?" the other answered with a few slow blinks of his eyelashes. "I-I just..." there was something off about Charles' body language and the way he blinked his eyes so rapidly, the way his body seemed like it was shaking. "I just hav-haven't been sleeping very much is all." The man tried to wipe the growing moisture in his eyes quickly as he spoke. "I keep waking up and-and I haven't been feeling good, my stomach keeps hurting and my body ke-keeps shaking and...I keep crying!"

Approaching slowly Erik put an arm behind his lover's shoulders and started guiding him back to bed, "I think you might be having some panic attacks." He'd seen them before in the past, young mutants were prone to them after living lives of being ridiculed by people. Sitting Charles on the bed next to himself slowly Erik embraced the younger man in a soft hug. "Come here, it's ok. I think...I think I understand now."

Charles pushed his face into Erik's shoulders and sniffled softly but the tremors in his body seemed to ease off with being held, "I missed you too, I know I was an asshole and I'm really sorry about what I said. You have to understand that I'm just used to fighting back, used to people betraying me and..." his voice trailed off as more excuses popped in his head before he started over a bit. "I'm sorry for worrying you that I might not come back. What you said was pure bullshit though and I don't agree with it, you are too lovable."

Peeling himself from Erik's shoulder Charles looked up at his companion and started chewing on his thumbnail without realizing it. "I don't feel very lovable. I feel like one of those stupid humans you always tell me about that you hate."

"Hey! Hey! No, you are not one of those people!" in the softest way possible Erik tried to dispute that, "I know I tend to generalize humans together but Charles that's the thing, you _are_ the exception to that rule in every way! I love you, I love you so much!"

A shaky but genuine smile came through the sniffles on Charles' face, "I love you too. 'M sorry I made a mess of everything by not believing you."

"Don't be sorry, I never realized that I was making you feel less important by telling you those things. I swear by everything I am that I love you and I will never leave you unless that you want me to or if my being here becomes a threat to you and Nina's safety. Now, let's get you laying back down. You've literally made yourself sick with worry."

Cuddling up in bed Charles eyes fluttered closed soon after, "I love you." he muttered once and heard Erik repeat the words back just as he drifted off to sleep. "I love you too."

~.~.~.~.~

A little over a week later they'd all had dinner together, everything had gone back to normal once Charles had gotten his needed rest. Better than normal actually since it felt as if a barrier between them had been taken down, a barrier Erik had never even noticed before.

After finishing their dinner Erik had winked at Nina, who held back a giggle of knowing and watched her Papa sink down to one knee behind Charles who had begun putting the dishes in the sink. When he turned around the man gasped with fright and seeing the two matching rings Erik held up in his hands Charles pressed the drying rag he'd been holding to his mouth as a blush started to coat his cheeks. "Erik what are you doing!?" he cried out.

"I know we can't officially get married but I don't want anything like this to happen again, I want the honor of calling you my husband." he half grinned with a snarky and confident look in his eyes. "I love you very much and I'd be honored if I could stay here with you and Nina forever."

Moving back to his original standing position Erik turned towards Nina for a single moment to wink at her again and give her a cheesy thumbs up, her giggles echoed beautifully through the room. A _snap_ sound happened then and Erik was the one who yelped when the towel had expertly snapped and cracked against his ass. "Charles!-" he started to complain until a pair of arms hugged around his neck and Charles kissed him warmly.

"You didn't have to do all of this." the younger insisted but picked one of the rings and gently eased it onto the appropriate finger, it was a tad loose. "I know, I wanted to." Erik said back and with his power gently tightened the ring for Charles so that it would be the perfect size. "If it were legal I would marry you in a heartbeat Charles Xavier."

"Wait." a smaller and feminine voice stopped them, "You two aren't married?" Nina asked in confusion as the realization clicked together in her brain.

Both men laughed a bit then but never answered the young girl, who seemed to find the rest of the situation boring and more happy to go play with her toy animals than watch her father's keep being all kissy in the kitchen. Erik pressed their foreheads together and entangled his arms around Charles' back to pull him close. "I know we have things to work on, things to talk about, but I do know one thing. And that is that there is nowhere else I'd rather be than right here with you, and her."

"Me too...perhaps it makes me a bad person that I don't care about all of the things you've done. I don't care about who you are as Magneto. As long as I have Erik I'll accept every part of Magneto too."

They stood there embracing for a long time, unwilling to break the contact until their daughter's voice called them from the living room. "Daddy, Papa! I think I'm making the deer try to get into the house again, I don't know how to stop it!"

With matching smiles the men parted, "We should probably handle that. You help Nina, I'll go get the broom to shoo them away again." Charles said and they quickly split apart and took their battle plan into motion.


End file.
